Adarsh Shastri, an Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Dwarka is now the Parliamentary Secretary (Information Technology) in Arvind Kejriwal’s team in Delhi. The former Sales Head of Apple India, Shastri has been entrusted to bring in Information Technology in various departments of Delhi government and convert the national Capital into a “Smart City”. He is also looking after the wi-fi project, one of the flagship poll promises made by the AAP government. Also Read – Company director arrested for swindling Rs 345 croreWhat is the status of the wi-fi project? In response to our expression of interest, 150 companies from various countries made presentations before us, out of which 80 per cent companies did not ask for money. We are in the process of finalising the tender document and tenders will be afloat by July. We have planned to launch the first phase of wi-fi project by February, 2016.Which areas will be covered in the first phase?It’s a public wi-fi project, so it will cover public places and not individual houses or establishments. We will cover shopping markets, malls, metro, parks and high density areas. In the launching phase, we have a target of 1,000 horse powercapacity, while complete coverage will require 70,000 to 80,000 horse power. Initially, Rs 150 crore is being earmarked for the project but the cost will go down as we are trying to link it with revenue through advertisement. Also Read – Man who cheated 20 women on matrimonial websites arrested How will the wi-fi system work?The individual user will be allocated with a certain amount of free data for each day, say 50 mb. As you approach to exhaust the daily limit, you will get a warning message but will be charged at commercial rates if you continue using data. We will install Access Points (AP), which will cover 50 sqm areas around it. The speed will be from 512 mbps to 1 mbps, which is sufficient to download any amount of data. How are you planning to make it a revenue earning project? Delhi has around two crore wireless devices. Considering 25-30 per cent users at a time, we will have 50 lakh users, which is a significant figure in comparison to the 4.5 lakh in Shanghai and 50,000 to 1.5 lakh in New York. We will be providing 50 lakh consumers to our advertisers, who can pitch for them area specific targeted advertisements.What are the other initiatives in IT you are working on, to make Delhi a ‘Smart City’? We are trying every possible means to use maximum IT in almost all the departments. There are 219 types of certificates in Delhi provided by the government and we are identifying the ones, which can be made digital. Now, citizens can apply online and take the prints of the certificates at their home. Are there any plans to use IT in the health sector? In future, every doctor in the national Capital will have a tablet to see the case history of his patient. The hospitals will be linked online and on actual time basis. The patients will not have to stand in queue every time as one time registration will be sufficient. The doctor will be able to attend the patients without physical registration. The status of the EWS beds in private hospitals will also be on real time basis and patients will be digitally transferred to private hospitals.read more

Kolkata: The state Self-Help Group and Self-Employment (SHG & SE) department has collaborated with the department of Correctional Services for a massive education drive through the process of vocational training programme for the inmates of the correctional homes across the state.”Our sole objective is to prevent recidivism and with this objective we have adopted the policy to train inmates of correctional homes in various trades to develop their skill & expertise, so that they get employment after their release,” said Ujjal Biswas, minister for Correctional Services department. Also Read – Rain batters Kolkata, cripples normal lifeThe West Bengal Swarojgar Corporation Ltd (WBSCL), an undertaking of the state SHG & SE department that imparts skill-based job oriented training to unemployed people will launch this programme in the correctional homes “Our main target group for the training will be those inmates who are slated to complete their prison term within a period of six months to one year. We will train them in a way so that they become self-reliant. Inmates, who will be trained under this programme, will get financial assistance after their release from correctional homes,” a senior official of WBSCL said. Also Read – Speeding Jaguar crashes into Mercedes car in Kolkata, 2 pedestrians killedThe inmates after their release will be linked with the flagship scheme — Swami Vivekananda Swanirbhar Karmasanasthan Prakalpa — to support them for self employment. Around 30 inmates from each of correctional home will receive training and will be awarded certificates after successful completion of the training. The superintendents of central and district correctional homes as well as the social welfare offices in the correctional homes has made a study on the vocation, depending upon the interest of the inmates. The WBSCL has already prepared a training calendar and have designated agencies for each of the 20 correctional homes which will come under the aegis of the training in the first phase. The agencies under the WBSCL who will impart the training will provide the necessary infrastructure and equipment of the programme. It may be mentioned that there are as many as 78 vocations in which the WBSCL provides training. The total cost for the project is around Rs 2 crore and for the first year it will involve Rs 1 crore. The WBSCL has sanctioned Rs 50 lakhs and deposited the same as advance to the West Bengal Prisoners Welfare Fund.read more